Request Submitted To: Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety & Security

Category: Law Enforcement

Year Filed: 2011

Background

In 2010, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) announced the availability to Massachusetts law enforcement agencies of $300,000 in federal highway safety funds for the purchase of Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology. The deadline for applications for funding was November 29, 2010. Grant awards were to have been announced in early January 2011.

It appears that a key element of that program is the collection and storage of personally identifiable information in a centralized state database that will be widely available.

The goal of this public records request was to seek documents to assist the public in understanding the operation of the program and any provision for the protection of individual privacy.